Pleasant
by TheAUWalker
Summary: Medusa thought she was alone until she met Franken Stein, a scientist shunned like her. The two of them were cold in this world until they found each other-the lights in each other's darkness. Fluff, one-shot, AU.


He was like her, and it was a sort of quiet, content relief. There were not many people in the world like her(perhaps no one) and then she discovered him, sharing her passions and her interests.

Medusa had been terribly alone in a house that was too big and cold, and he brought a ray of light to her darkness.

Stein had been shunned from the world of science like she, their faces banned and select pieces of their work accepted under a different name. She had heard of him and him of her, and they met at last, not knowing quite what to expect of the other.

Medusa lived with her daughter, Crona, who was drifting away as she grew up, and a few visitors she had on occasion. There were her sisters, Arachne and Shaula, and her friends Free, Eruka and Mizune who came by less and less. Medusa was happy, she supposed, she didn't really need friends or family or love. She had her books and her experiments.

But she got around to reading one of Stein's books and with a little research she found out that he lived in a city not far away from hers. Medusa found who he really was, and he was like her.

It was almost a little thrilling, electricity that made her sit straight up in her chair. She wondered if Stein had her books, if he looked her up like she did to him. It was silly, stupid, but something for her hardened heart to feed off of.

Eventually, they set a date to meet.

Both of them did not go out much and it was a venture to meet; Medusa was certainly nervous. She was unsure of what he would think of her and she didn't know what she'd think of him-he could be a jerk, or the nicest guy she'd ever met.

They were going to meet at this cafe, in the middle of both their cities, a low-ceilinged comely building with a fireplace and a patio with an intricate iron gate; old, tall trees lining the road in a small forest and squishy, overstuffed armchairs. They had good pastries and the furniture didn't creak too badly.

It had been there for years and was a little sad, tilting towards the road. Not many people came there anymore, and the waitstaff were dwindling.

"Medusa Gorgon?"

She was clutching a coffee and turned so quickly that she nearly upset it. Medusa straightened her posture and laid eyes upon Franken Stein for the first time.

The first thing she noticed was that he had a screw sticking out of his head.

He was handsome, in that sort of coldly attractive way, with a strong, set jaw and a muscular build, draped in a stitched lab coat and wearing other stitched articles of clothing. He had silver hair(way too early, considering his age) and intelligent green eyes hiding something unsettling behind reflective glasses.

He was surveying her silently as she was surveying him.

The sky, a dark, bruised purple, the silence so thick you could slice through it with a knife.

"Yes."

She stood to shake his hand.

"It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise." he responded, emotionless, nothing going on behind his mask.

"Would you like to sit?"

Stein obliged.

It was awkward for a few minutes until the waiter came around to their table and Stein spoke up to order a coffee.

Medusa felt flat and was trying desperately not to.

She had wanted to meet him and hadn't thought of the fact that maybe she should have remembered to find things to talk about before she stepped on the bus and was whisked away from her books that could maybe help with conversation.

She searched for something.

It didn't seem like he would volunteer, staring intently at the swinging kitchen door, fingers drumming a steady beat on the table. Once his drink arrived Stein took a long swig, finally placing it down and looking at her.

Expectantly.

"What do you do?"

"Teach."

Her eyebrows rose, interested.

"Really? What?"

"Phasmology."

"Fascinating! How are your students?"

His eye twitched.

"Disobedient."

Medusa laughed.

"And you?"

"Oh...not much. I'm a part time nurse, but mostly I stay at home with my daughter."

"You have a daughter?"

"Yes, her name is Crona."

"Hm."

"Do you have any children?"

"No." Stein replied with the faintest hint of disgust.

"You don't like children...?"

"Not a fan of them, no."

"Then why do you teach?" Medusa asked, a smile playing across her lips.

"It was a favor."

"Oh."

They both took sips of their drinks.

"I'm a big fan of your writing."

"I learned things from yours, as well." Stein replied, glancing at her over the rim of his mug, the corners of his mouth pulling up briefly.

It was the first time she could see the hint of a smile from the emotionless scientist, and it brought encouragement in the form of warmth to her cheeks.

"I'm honored."

He bowed his head briefly in acknowledgment.

Medusa was opening her mouth to speak when something inside his bag beeped.

"Excuse me."

He bent over to retrieve a cell phone and check the screen, snapping it shut after a moment with a small grimace and replacing it in his bag.

"Everything okay?" Medusa asked.

"One of my students. Nothing too alarming, she'll figure out that I'm away soon enough."

The unsettling disturbance in his eyes brightened and Medusa felt her own demons flutter briefly in the back of her mind.

They both jumped at the waiter came in through the iron gate that enclosed the patio area, the metal rattling violently as it shut.

"Sorry." he said meekly. "We're closing soon. D'you want anything else?"

They both shook their heads.

"I'll get the bill." The boy mumbled, and treaded with stooped shoulders back into the kitchen.

The two scientists watched the creaking trees, and when the acne-riddled waiter came back, simultaneously got out their wallets.

"No need." Stein said briskly.

He paid.

They walked to the bus stop together.

"I'll see you around, Doctor."

Not many could bring a smile out of Franken Stein.

"I look forward to it."

-o-o-o

"Who'd you go out with? The scientist guy?"

"Yes, that was him."

"What was he like?"

"Me." Medusa said softly, a smile gracing her features.

"You going to see him again?"

"I hope so, Eruka. I hope so."

Pleasantly, Medusa discovered that her house did not seem so drafty anymore, the indirect fault of the Phasmology teacher with the disobedient students, the one who had made her coffee seem less tasteless.

She hoped he liked her, too.

-O-O-O

**A/N: This was a bit AU; Medusa before she goes all evil on everybody. Fic request for a friend. **

**Please review!**


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